Methodology

How WealthPercentile estimates where an income or a net worth ranks among 5.5 billion adults in 77 countries and territories — what the numbers mean, where they come from and how far you can trust them.

What the numbers mean

When the calculator says you are in the top 5%, it means that about 5% of adults in the group you chose have more net worth (or income) than the amount you entered, and 95% have less. Adults are people aged 20 and over. The group can be the whole world, the European Union or a single country.

The figures are model estimates, not a register of real people. Nobody’s personal data is used, and the amount you type never leaves your browser.

What we measure

Net worth

Everything a person owns at current market value — homes and other property, bank deposits, shares, funds, business ownership and funded pension savings where the source includes them — minus all debt. Household wealth is split equally between the adults in the household, following the World Inequality Database convention.

Income

For cross-country comparison we use pre-tax national income per adult as defined by the World Inequality Database: wages, business income, pensions and capital income, plus some components that never reach a payslip, such as retained company profits and the imputed rent of owner-occupied homes. Because this measure is broader than taxable income, a typical salary ranks lower here than in national tax statistics. Where we use national statistics instead (currently Norway), we say so next to the result.

Currency

All amounts are converted at one fixed set of exchange rates from 2025-12-31 (for example 1 EUR = 11.843 NOK = 1.175 USD). The conversion is not adjusted for differences in living costs (PPP), so the same amount buys more in some countries than others.

Data sources

The model combines international and national sources. Each source is used for a specific purpose:

World Inequality Database data are used under CC BY 4.0. No person-level rich lists are used.

How the model is built

Each of the 77 countries and territories gets its own distribution curve for net worth and for income. Eight regional residuals cover the remaining adult population, so the world total adds up without double counting. The world ranking is simply the sum of all countries.

1. Totals. Average income and wealth per adult come from the World Inequality Lab’s 2025 macro series, multiplied by the number of adults.
2. Shape below the median. Published shares held by the bottom 50% and middle 40% set the lower half of the curve. Where the ECB household survey or national tables publish thresholds, these anchor the shape.
3. Shape above the median. The top of each wealth curve follows a smooth generalized Pareto shape fitted to the published top-10% and top-1% shares. Published millionaire counts are used as an extra calibration point where they exist.
4. The very top. Surveys rarely reach the richest. Above the top 0.01%, a statistical tail is calibrated so that each country keeps a realistic number of billionaires — about 3,358 worldwide.
5. Countries with little data. Where no comparable distribution exists, the shape is borrowed from a weighted set of similar countries. These countries get a weaker data-quality score.

Norway: official statistics

For Norway the calculator uses Statistics Norway directly: personal gross income before tax for 2024 (residents 17+), and personal net worth with homes at estimated market value. These figures are closer to what Norwegians see in their tax return than the international measure. They are not added into the world total, which always uses the harmonized model.

Data quality scores

Every country is scored separately for income and net worth, from 1 (strong direct source) to 5 (mainly modelled). For net worth: 16 countries at 2, 43 countries at 3, 18 countries at 5. The scores describe how the curve is built, not a statistical error margin.

See the score for every country on the country list.

Uncertainty

Results show a model range in addition to the central estimate. The range comes from alternative curve shapes, levels and population assumptions. It is a sensitivity range, not a confidence interval. Uncertainty is largest at the very top, in countries with a weak data-quality score, and around zero net worth.

Limitations

• Definitions differ between countries — for example whether pension rights, cars or household contents count as wealth.
• Household wealth is split equally between adults; real ownership within couples can differ.
• Source years differ (mostly 2023–2025) and are brought to a common 2025 level.
• Fixed exchange rates mean results shift with currency movements, but are not updated daily.
• The extreme top is modelled. Ranks among the richest few thousand people are approximate by design.

Change log

• October 2026 (v10). Wealth curves above the median refitted with a smooth Pareto shape (removes flat stretches in the earlier fit); Norway uses Statistics Norway in the calculator; person-level rich lists removed.
• September 2026 (v9). Coverage extended to 77 countries and territories; data-quality review of every country.

The full technical documentation — validation tests, national source tracks, distribution curves and model inputs — is available in the advanced tool.